Thursday, May 19, 2011

Winter Sowing Was a Success!

Late winter when we had a warm period we sowed Dinosaur Kale and Amish Deer Tounge lettuce in our salad table then watched them germinate. When they were about an 1" in height we took off the plastic on the low tunnel exposing the plants to full sun and were amazed at how fast they grew. Yes, it's nice to have fresh homegrown food again, it makes me think summer is almost here and I can almost taste some real tomatoes!

Plans for this salad table can be found at Maryland University Extension and the videos and instructions by Jon Traunfield, a fellow Master Gardener are very simple and complete. We love this salad table because the rabbits can't access it but after this harvest we plan on converting it in to a SIP because we found it required frequent watering and SIPs are just more efficient at conserving water.

I'm feeling pretty lucky that the squirrels haven't discovered it, or at least haven't been interested in digging in it, they'd rather eat my heirloom tomatoes!

I LIKE this homemade salad table but will LOVE it when it's converted into a SIP this Spring!

The salad table wasn't our only success this season. Mid winter Little Green Girl and I winter sowed lots of seeds not knowing what would happen. As we uncovered the containers when the temperatures got warmer we found the results to be incredible. Just about everything we sowed germinated well with the exception of the Marsh Mallow seeds... and that's probably because I didn't make enough drainage holes. Seeing a container full of water, mud, and no seedlings seemed to have confirmed my suspicion.

Here's what we sowed this winter:

What's one of the best advantages of winter sowing? The tomatoes and pepper plants we grew indoors required hardening off while winter sowed plants didn't. From seeds to plants they've already acclimated to the outdoor environment. Mother Nature is truly amazing.

GRG Slideshow

"Why Bother?"

"Measured against the Problem We Face, planting a garden sounds pretty benign, I know, but in fact it's one of the most powerful things an individual can do--to reduce your carbon footprint, sure, but more important, to reduce your sense of dependence and dividedness: to change the cheap-energy mind."